Abstract

460 INTRODUCTION An explosion of innovation and investment in the early 1980s and 1990s propelled the United States from a country where computers were arcane devices with no impact on most people to a country where computers are vital to our lifestyle, our critical infrastructure, and even our national security. Although the reliability of computing increased dramatically over this period, security actually decreased as functionality and connectivity grew. Today, the frequency and nature of cyber attacks prompt a well-founded concern that our way of life and national security are at risk. Most cyber attacks are enabled by exploitable software flaws. Some believe that the risk is created by careless software developers who leave numerous, accidental flaws. Others are more concerned that offshore outsourcing of software development is leaving us vulnerable to malicious code implanted by foreign adversaries. The primary threat, however, is neither offshore development n the 21st century, cyberspace has emerged as the foundation for a new way of life and a new approach to warfighting. As a logical domain not subject to the laws of physics and with a complexity greater than its human creators can understand, this foundation is shaky at best. We are in the early stages of conquering this man-made space, as humanity has conquered the sea, air, and outer-space domains in previous centuries. Over the coming decades, researchers will discover the scientific underpinnings and engineering disciplines that will allow us to build confidently on the cyberspace foundation, with no more concern for its reliability and security than we have for brick-and-mortar structures. Researchers at APL are part of that bold endeavor. This issue of the Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest describes their use of formal methods, software analysis, new languages, new hardware, and new protocols to derive the principles and define the techniques that will allow even greater value to be derived from the use of cyberspace, without the current possibility of catastrophic loss. Trustworthy Computing: Making Cyberspace Safe—Guest Editor’s Introduction